Hab 1:1-11, 2:4-20 | Clarke | e4.org | THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET HABAKKUK Chronological Notes relative to this Book, upon the supposition that it was written a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before the commencement of the Christian era. -Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3404. -Year of the Julian Period, 4114. -Year since the Flood, 1748. -Year since the vocation of Abram, 1321. -Year from the foundation of Solomon's temple, 412. -Year since the division of Solomon's monarchy into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, 376. -First year of the forty-fifth Olympiad. -Year since the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 121. -Year before the birth of Jesus Christ, 596. -Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 600. -Cycle of the Sun, 26. -Cycle of the Moon, 10. -Third year of AEropas, king of Macedon. -Twentieth year of Alyattes II., king of Lydia. -Twenty-sixth year of Cyaxares or Cyaraxes, king of Media. -Sixth year of Agasicles, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Proclidae. -Eighth year of Leon, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the Eurysthenidae. -Seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. -Seventeenth year of Tarquinius Priscus, king of the Romans. -Eleventh year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah. CHAPTER I The prophet enters very abruptly on his subject, his spirit being greatly indignant at the rapid progress of vice and impiety , 1-4. Upon which God is introduced threatening very awful and sudden judgments to be indicted by the ministry of the Chaldeans , 5-10. The Babylonians attribute their wonderful successes to their idols , 11. The prophet then, making a sudden transition, expostulates with God (probably personating the Jews) for permitting a nation much more wicked than themselves, as they supposed, to oppress and devour them, as fishers and fowlers do their prey , 12-17. We know little of this prophet; for what we find in the ancients concerning him is evidently fabulous, as well as that which appears in the Apocrypha . He was probably of the tribe of Simeon , and a native of Beth-zacar . It is very likely that he lived after the destruction of Nineveh, as he speaks of the Chaldeans , but makes no mention of the Assyrians . And he appears also to have prophesied before the Jewish captivity, see ; and therefore Abp. Newcome thinks he may be placed in the reign of Jehoiakim, between the years 606 B.C. and 598 B.C. As a poet , Habakkuk holds a high rank among the Hebrew prophets. The beautiful connection between the parts of his prophecy, its diction, imagery, spirit, and sublimity, cannot be too much admired; and his hymn, , is allowed by the best judges to be a masterpiece of its kind. See Lowth's Praelect. xxi., xxviii. NOTES ON CHAP. I Verse 1. The burden ] hammassa signifies not only the burdensome prophecy, but the prophecy or revelation itself which God presented to the mind of Habakkuk, and which he saw -clearly perceived, in the light of prophecy, and then faithfully declared, as this book shows. The word signifies an oracle or revelation in general; but chiefly, one relative to future calamities .

‏ Habakkuk 1:1-11

THE BOOK

OF THE

PROPHET HABAKKUK

Chronological Notes relative to this Book, upon the supposition

that it was written a little before the destruction of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before the commencement of the Christian era.

-Year from the Creation, according to Archbishop Usher, 3404.

-Year of the Julian Period, 4114.

-Year since the Flood, 1748.

-Year since the vocation of Abram, 1321.

-Year from the foundation of Solomon's temple, 412.

-Year since the division of Solomon's monarchy into the kingdoms

of Israel and Judah, 376.

-First year of the forty-fifth Olympiad.

-Year since the destruction of the kingdom of Israel by

Shalmaneser, king of Assyria, 121.

-Year before the birth of Jesus Christ, 596.

-Year before the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 600.

-Cycle of the Sun, 26.

-Cycle of the Moon, 10.

-Third year of AEropas, king of Macedon.

-Twentieth year of Alyattes II., king of Lydia.

-Twenty-sixth year of Cyaxares or Cyaraxes, king of Media.

-Sixth year of Agasicles, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of

the Proclidae.

-Eighth year of Leon, king of Lacedaemon, of the family of the

Eurysthenidae.

-Seventh year of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.

-Seventeenth year of Tarquinius Priscus, king of the Romans.

-Eleventh year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah.

CHAPTER I

The prophet enters very abruptly on his subject, his spirit being greatly indignant at the rapid progress of vice and impiety, 1-4.

Upon which God is introduced threatening very awful and sudden judgments to be indicted by the ministry of the Chaldeans,

5-10.

The Babylonians attribute their wonderful successes to their idols, 11.

The prophet then, making a sudden transition, expostulates with God (probably personating the Jews) for permitting a nation much more wicked than themselves, as they supposed, to oppress and devour them, as fishers and fowlers do their prey, 12-17.

We know little of this prophet; for what we find in the ancients concerning him is evidently fabulous, as well as that which appears in the Apocrypha. He was probably of the tribe of Simeon, and a native of Beth-zacar. It is very likely that he lived after the destruction of Nineveh, as he speaks of the Chaldeans, but makes no mention of the Assyrians. And he appears also to have prophesied before the Jewish captivity, see Hab 1:5; 2:1; 3:2, 16-19; and therefore Abp. Newcome thinks he may be placed in the reign of Jehoiakim, between the years 606 B.C. and 598 B.C.

As a poet, Habakkuk holds a high rank among the Hebrew prophets. The beautiful connection between the parts of his prophecy, its diction, imagery, spirit, and sublimity, cannot be too much admired; and his hymn, Hab 3:1-19, is allowed by the best judges to be a masterpiece of its kind. See Lowth's Praelect. xxi., xxviii.

NOTES ON CHAP. I

Verse 1. The burden] hammassa signifies not only the burdensome prophecy, but the prophecy or revelation itself which God presented to the mind of Habakkuk, and which he saw-clearly perceived, in the light of prophecy, and then faithfully declared, as this book shows. The word signifies an oracle or revelation in general; but chiefly, one relative to future calamities.

Verse 2. O Lord, how long shall I cry] The prophet feels himself strongly excited against the vices which he beheld; and which, it appears from this verse, he had often declaimed against, but in vain; the people continued in their vices, and God in his longsuffering.

Habakkuk begins his prophecy under a similar feeling, and nearly in similar words, as Juvenal did his Satires:-

Semper ego auditor tantum?

Nunquamne reponam?

Vexatus toties rauci Theseide Codri?

Sat. i. 1.

"Shall I always be a hearer only?

Shall I never reply?

So often vexed?"

Of violence] The most unlawful and outrageous acts.

Verse 3. And cause me to behold grievance] amal, labour, toil, distress, misery, &c., the common fruits of sin.

Verse 4. The law is slacked] They pay no attention to it; it has lost all its vigour, its restraining and correcting power, it is not executed; right judgment is never pronounced; and the poor righteous man complains in vain that he is grievously oppressed by the wicked, and by those in power and authority. That the utmost depravity prevailed in the land of Judah is evident from these verses; and can we wonder, then, that God poured out such signal judgments upon them? When judgment doth not proceed from the seat of judgment upon earth, it will infallibly go forth from the throne of judgment in heaven.

Verse 5. Behold ye among the heathen] Instead of baggoyim, among the nations or heathen, some critics think we should read bogedim, transgressors; and to the same purpose the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic have read; and thus it is quoted by St. Paul, Ac 13:41. But neither this, nor any tantamount reading, is found in any of the MSS. yet collated. Newcome translates, "See, ye transgressors, and behold a wonder, and perish."

I will work a work in your days] As he is speaking of the desolation that should be produced by the Chaldeans, it follows, as Bp. Newcome has justly observed, that the Chaldeans invaded Judah whilst those were living whom the prophet addressed.

Which ye will not believe] Nor did they, after all the declarations of various prophets. They still supposed that God would not give them up into the hands of their enemies, though they continued in their abominations!

It is evident that St. Paul, in the above place, accommodates this prediction to his own purpose. And possibly this sense might have been the intention of the Divine Spirit when he first spoke the words to the prophet; for, as God works in reference to eternity, so he speaks in reference to the same; and therefore there is an infinity of meaning in his WORD. These appear to be the words of God in answer to the prophet, in which he declares he will entirely ruin this wicked people by means of the Chaldeans.

Verse 6. That bitter and hasty nation] Cruel and oppressive in their disposition; and prompt and speedy in their assaults and conquests.

Verse 7. Their judgment-shall proceed of themselves.] By revolting from the Assyrians, they have become a great nation. Thus, their judgment and excellence were the result of their own valour. Other meanings are given to this passage.

Verse 8. Their horses also are swifter than the leopards] The Chaldean cavalry are proverbial for swiftness, courage, &c. In Jeremiah, Jer 4:13, it is said, speaking of Nebuchadnezzar, "His chariots are as a whirlwind; his horses are swifter than eagles."

Oppian, speaking of the horses bred about the Euphrates, says, "They are by nature warhorses, and so intrepid that neither the sight nor the roaring of the lion appals them; and, besides, they are astonishingly fleet."

The leopard, of all quadrupeds, is allowed to be the swiftest.

The evening wolves] The wolf is remarkable for his quick sight. AElian says, οξυωτεστατονεστιζωονκαιμεντοικαινυκτοςκαι σεληνηςουκουσηςοδεορα; "The wolf is a very fleet animal; and, besides, it can see by night, even when there is no moonlight." Some think the hyaena is meant: it is a swift, cruel, and untameable animal. The other prophets speak of the Chaldeans in the same way. See De 28:49; Jer 48:40; 49:22; Eze 17:5; La 4:19.

Verse 9. Their faces shall sup up as the east wind] This may be an allusion to those electrical winds which prevail in that country. Mr. Jackson, in his overland journey from India, mentions his having bathed in the Tigris. On his coming out of the river one of those winds passed over him, and, in a moment, carried off every particle of water that was on his body and in his bathing dress. So, the Chaldeans shall leave no substance behind them; their faces, their bare appearance, is the proof that nothing good shall be left.

Shall gather the captivity as the sand.] They shall carry off innumerable captives.

Verse 10. They shall scoff at the kings] No power shall be able to stand before them. It will be only as pastime to them to take the strongest places. They will have no need to build formidable ramparts: by sweeping the dust together they shall make mounts sufficient to pass over the walls and take the city.

Verse 11. Then shall his mind change] This is thought to relate to the change which took place in Nebuchadnezzar, when "a beast's heart was given to him," and he was "driven from the dwellings of men." And this was because of his offending-his pride and arrogance; and his attributing all his success, &c., to his idols.

‏ Habakkuk 2:4-20

Verse 4. Behold, his soul which is lifted up] Hee that presumes on his safety without any special warrant from God, is a proud man; and whatever he may profess, or think of himself, his mind is not upright in him. But he that is just by faith shall live-he that believes what God hath said relative to the Chaldeans besieging Jerusalem, shall make his escape from the place, and consequently shall save his life. The words in the New Testament are accommodated to the salvation which believers in Christ shall possess. Indeed, the just-the true Christians, who believed in Jesus Christ's words relative to the destruction of Jerusalem, when they found the Romans coming against it, left the city, and escaped to Pella in Coelesyria, and did live-their lives were saved: while the unbelieving Jews, to a man, either perished or were made slaves. One good sense is, He that believes the promises of God, and has found life through believing, shall live by his faith.

Verse 5. Because he transgresseth by wine] From the present translation, it is not easy to see either reason or meaning in the first clause of this verse. Newcome translates, "Moreover, as a mighty man transgresseth through wine, he is proud, and remaineth not at rest." Houbigant thus: "For he, though he be a despiser, and powerful, and proud, yet shall he not have rest."

Nebuchadnezzar is here represented in his usual character, proud, haughty, and ambitious; inebriated with his successes, and determined on more extensive conquests; and, like the grave, can never have enough: yet, after the subjugation of many peoples and nations, he shall be brought down, and become so despicable that he shall be a proverb of reproach, and be taunted and scorned by all those whom he had before enslaved.

And cannot be satisfied] When he has obtained all that is within his reach, he wishes for more; and becomes miserable, because any limits are opposed to his insatiable ambition. It is said of Alexander:-

Unus Pellaeo juveni non sufficit orbis;

AEstuat infelix angusto limite mundi.

Juv. Sat. x. 168.

One world sufficed not Alexander's mind;

Coop'd up, he seem'd on earth and seas confined.

And the poet justly ridicules him, because at last the sarcophagus was found too large for his body!

Verse 6. Shall not all these take up a parable against him] His ambition, derangement, and the final destruction of his mighty empire by the Persians, shall form the foundation of many sententious sayings among the people. "He who towered so high, behold how low he is fallen!" "He made himself a god; behold, he herds with the beasts of the field!" "The disturber of the peace of the world is now a handful of dust!"

Verse 7. Shall they not rise up suddenly] Does not this refer to the sudden and unexpected taking of Babylon by Cyrus, whose troops entered into the city through the bed of the Euphrates, whose waters they had diverted by another channel; so that the Babylonians knew nothing of the matter till they saw the Persian soldiers rise up as in a moment, in the very heart of their city?

Verse 8. For the violence of the land] Or, for the violence done to the land of Judea, and to the city of Jerusalem.

Verse 9. An evil covetousness to his house] Nebuchadnezzar wished to aggrandize his family, and make his empire permanent: but both family and empire were soon cut off by the death of his son Belshazzar, and the consequent destruction of the Chaldean empire.

Verse 10. Hast sinned against thy soul.] Thy life is forfeited by thy crimes.

Verse 11. The stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of the timber shall answer it.] This appears to refer to the ancient mode of building walls; two or three courses of stone, and then one course of timber. See 1Ki 6:36: thus was the palace of Solomon built. The splendid and costly buildings of Babylon have been universally celebrated. But how were these buildings erected? By the spoils of conquered nations, and the expense of the blood of multitudes; therefore the stones and the timber are represented as calling out for vengeance against this ruthless conqueror.

Verse 12. Wo to him that buildeth a town with blood] At the expense of much slaughter. This is the answer of the beam to the stone. And these things will refer to the vast fortunes gained, and the buildings erected, by means of the slave-trade; where, to a considerate and humane mind, the walls appear as if composed of the bones of negroes, and cemented by their blood! But the towns or houses established by this iniquity soon come to ruin; and the fortunes made have, in most cases, become as chaff and dust before the whirlwind of God's indignation. But where are the dealers in the souls and bodies of men? Ask him who has them in his keeping. He can tell.

Verse 13. The people shall labour in the very fire] All these superb buildings shall be burnt down. See the parallel passage, Jer 51:58, and the note there.

Shall weary themselves for very vanity?] For the gratification of the wishes of ambition, and in buildings which shall be brought to naught.

Verse 14. For the earth shall be filled] This is a singular and important verse. It may be first applied to Babylon. God's power and providence shall be widely displayed in the destruction of this city and empire, in the humiliation of Nebuchadnezzar, Da 4:37, and in the captivity and restoration of his people. See Newcome, and see Isa 11:9.

Secondly. It may be applied to the glorious days of the Messiah. The land of Judea should by his preaching, and that of his disciples, be filled with the knowledge of God. God's great design fully discovered, and the scheme of salvation amply explained.

Thirdly. It may be applied to the universal spread of the Gospel over the habitable globe; when the fulness of the Gentiles should be brought in, and the Jews gathered in with that fulness. The earth cannot perish till every continent, island, and inhabitant, is illuminated with the light of the Gospel.

Verse 15. Wo unto him that giveth his neighbour drink] This has been considered as applying to Pharaoh-hophra, king of Egypt, who enticed his neighbours Jehoiachin and Zedekiah to rebel against Nebuchadnezzar, whereby the nakedness and imbecility of the poor Jews was soon discovered; for the Chaldeans soon took Jerusalem, and carried its kings, princes, and people, into captivity.

Verse 16. The cup of the Lord's right hand] Among the ancients, all drank out of the same cup; was passed from hand to hand, and each drank as much as he chose. The Chaldeans gave to the neighbouring nations the cup of idolatry and of deceitful alliance: and in return they received from the Lord the cup of his fury. So Grotius.

Verse 17. For the violence of Lebanon] Or, the violence done to Lebanon; to men, to cattle, to Judea, and to Jerusalem. See the note on the parallel place, Hab 2:8. This may be a threatening against Egypt, as the former was against Chaldea.

Verse 18. What profiteth the graven image] This is against idolatry in general, and every species of it, as well as against those princes, priests, and people who practice it, and encourage others to do the same. See on the parallel passages in the margin.

Dumb idols?] elilim illemim, "dumb nothings." This is exactly agreeable to St. Paul, 1Co 8:4, who says, "An idol is nothing in the world." What signify the idols worshipped by the Chaldeans, Tyrians, and Egyptians? They have not been able to save their worshippers.

Verse 19. Wo unto him] How foolish and contemptible to worship a thing formed by the hand of man out of wood, stone, gold, or silver! The meanest brute is superior to them all; it breathes and lives, but they have no breath in them. However, they are said above to be teachers of lies; that is, they appeared to give out oracles: but these were lies; and were not given by the statue, but by the priest.

Verse 20. The Lord is in his holy temple] Jehovah has his temple, the place where he is to be worshipped; but there there is no image. Oracles, however, are given forth; and every word of them is truth, and is fulfilled in its season. And this temple and its worship are holy; no abomination can be practiced there, and every thing in it leads to holiness of heart and life.

Let all the earth keep silence before him.] Let all be dumb. Let none of them dare to open their mouths in the presence of Jehovah. He alone is Sovereign. He alone is the arbiter of life and death. Let all hear his commands with the deepest respect, obey them with the promptest diligence, and worship him with the most profound reverence. When an Asiatic sovereign goes to the mosque on any of the eastern festivals, such as the Bairham, the deepest silence reigns among all his retinue, viziers, foreign ambassadors, &c. They all bow respectfully before him; but no word is spoken, no sound uttered. It is to this species of reverence that the prophet alludes, and with this he concludes the prophetic part of this book. What God has threatened or promised, that he will fulfil. Let every soul bow before him, and submit to his authority.